Illuminating means



061:.26, 1937. F. D. MacMAsTER 7 2,096,991.

ILLUMINATING MEANS Filed Dec. 16,1935

INVENTOR. FRANK D. MAC/VASTER- ATTORNEY.

Patented Oct. 26, 1937 UNITED SATES ILLUIVIINATING MEANS tion of New Jersey Application December 16, 1935, Serial No. 54,565

2 Claims.

My invention relates to refrigerated display cases and to lighting means therefor and particularly to constructions for illuminating the space beneath shelves Within such cases.

It is usual practice to illuminate refrigerated display cases by means of lights located outside of the case and adjacent upper edge of multiple glass panels in the front or to locate the lights in the top of the case. When located in this manner light is directed downwardly onto the objects displayed in the interior of the case without casting a reflection or glare which will be observable by persons viewing the case from the front. However, it is also usual? toprovide shelves within the case for holding additional food products and since the light is projected downwardly into the case these shelves cast shadows that extend over a large part of the lower portion of the interior of the case.

In order to overcome this objection to constructions of the prior art I provide refrigerated display cases with secondary light sources constructed and positioned to illuminate the area shaded from the top lights. In that form of my invention herein shown and described these secondary light sources are carried by the shelf brackets or supports to illuminate the area beneath the shelves. However, it will'be evident that the secondary sources of light may be constructed or arranged in various other ways to attain the result desired. When located within the refrigerated space I also employ means serving to prevent heat generated by the secondary light sources from producing ap- 5 preciable or detrimental convection currents or other undesirable heating effects within the case. To this end I prefer to construct the light supports in such a way and of such material that heat produced by the secondary lights is reduced to a minimum and dissipated so as to avoid injury or objectionable effects on material carried by the shelves.

One of the objects of my invention is to illuminate the area beneath the shelves of a refrigerated display case.

Another object of the invention is to provide a support for a shelf having means carried thereby for illuminating the area beneath the shelf.

A further object of my invention is to provide a refrigerated display case having a primary source of illumination and having a shelf located below said source in the interior of the case, secondary illuminating means for lighting the area beneath the shelf and means for preventing heat from the secondary illuminating means from producing objectionable effects on food products or other articles within the case.

These and other objects and features of the invention will appear from the. following descrip- 5 tion thereof in which reference is made to the accompanying figures of the drawing which illustrate a typical construction embodying my invention.

In the drawing: 10

Fig. l is a vertical sectional view of a refrigerated display case provided with a shelf therein and having typical primary and secondary illuminating means in accordance with one form of my invention. 15

'Fig. 2 is an enlarged View of a shelf bracket embodying illuminating means of the type illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is .a plan View of the shelf bracket illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 as seen from beneath;

Fig.4: is a horizontal sectional View of a detail of the construction shown in Fig. 2 taken on the line 4-4 thereof; and

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional View of the construction of Fig. 2 taken on the line 55 25 thereof. 7 I

While my invention may be used in various combinations and arrangements and may take various forms I have chosen for purposes of illustration in the drawing a form thereof in 30 which a conventional refrigerated display case is provided with a top 2, a multiple glass panel 4 in the front of the case through which the customer may'view the articles displayed and a rear door 6 which may slide or swing to provide 35 access to the interior of the. case. A main source of illumination for the case is provided in the form of lights 8 located at the upper edge of the glass panel 4 and arranged outside of the refrigerated space in position to illuminate the in- 40 terior of the case, a canopy or shield Hi extending down about the light to prevent glare and annoyance to observers. These features of my construction are or may be of conventional type and construction and may be varied with each in- 45 stallation to suit the conditions.

Within the interior refrigerated space of the case I provide a shelf upon which additional articles may be displayed. The shelf is supported by suitable brackets l2 mounted on supporting 5 members l l located at intervals along the rear of the case, preferably between the sliding doors 6 and at the ends of the case. The upper portions of the supporting members extend to the top of the case adjacent the cooling coil l6 while the 5 lower portions thereof are secured to the back of the case below the doors 6.

The bracket is formed with a cut out IE to receive retaining means on the shelf supports or brackets I2. The retaining means illustrated extend about the sides of the member l4 and to the rear thereof but are spaced apart as shown in Fig. 4, to permit the reduced portion 18 of the members l4 to pass between the same in applying the bracket to the member. The brackets are applied by holding the bracket at an angle to the support adjacent the cut out portion l8 as shown in dotted lines in Fig, 4; and swinging it into position at right angles to the support so that the bracket can be moved to the desired position with the rearwardly extending retaining means 20 substantially surrounding the memer [4. A positioning element such as the set screw 22 is carried by the bracket and engages the member I4 to retain the bracket in adjusted position at any desired height in the refrigerated space of the case. The foot 24 of the bracket l2 also engages the member l4 below the retaining means 20 and is provided with an adjusting screw 26 serving to vary the angle at which the shelf extends from the supporting means within the case.

With the construction described above the shelf within the display case can be readily adjusted to different heights and dilferent angular positions as desired to produce the most efiective and pleasing appearance or display of the products in the case. It will be noted however that in any position of the shelf, light from the main source of illumination 8 at the front and top of the glass panel 4 is cut off by the shelf. A shadow is therefore cast over the rear of the lower portion of the case the edge of which shadow extends along a line indicated at A in Fig. 1. The portion of the case below the shelf and extending from A to the rear of the case therefore receives little or no light directly from the source 8.

In the construction illustrated this deficiency is offset by providing the shelf bracket l2 with a secondary source of illumination which may be an ordinary incandescent lamp 30 that is preferably small or the secondary light may be of a type which produces little or no heat such as a neon or other vapor lamp. The lamp 3D is carried by a socket 32 and is provided with a refiector 34 located above the light to increase the amount and distribution of the light projected downwardly onto the articles beneath the shelf and to shield the light from observers standing in front of the case. The lamp and reflector may be of any suitable type or form and are carried by the bracket l2 through which conductors supplying current for the lamp may extend. However, I prefer to supply current to the lamps from wires extending through a tubular conduit 36 extending through all of the brackets 12 and serving to aid in retaining them in their adjusted positions.

The brackets l2 may be formed in any usable or suitable manner and the shelves may be of any preferred type. Ordinarily I employ shelves in the form of a wire rack 38 supported at their ends by the brackets l2 and carrying trays 40 for the articles to be displayed. Laterally extending portions 42 are formed on the opposite sides of the bracket for receiving the wire rack -38 and upwardly projecting flanges are formed at the front'and rear of the brackets to prevent displacement of the wire racks. The flange 44 by persons viewing the articles displayed.

The brackets l2 supporting members l4 and other elements of the construction described are preferably formed of metal such as aluminum, brass or other material having high heat conductivity so that what little heat is producedby the lamp 30 which constitutes the secondary sources of illumination is dissipated rapidly throughout a relatively large volume of material and over a large area. Furthermore, by forming the supporting members l4 so that they extend upwardly to the top of the case and adjacent the cooling coil I6 the heat is carried toward the coldest portion of the case and is rapidly dissipated. Thus there is only a very small temperature increase produced in the bracket as a whole and heated spots or areas are avoided and objectionable convection currents or appreciable heating effects are not produced. Moreover the trays 49 may be made of glass or other material of low heat conductivity or may be insulated from the bracket if desired to further reduce the transfer of heat to articles on the trays.

While the construction illustrated represents one type of device embodying my invention the form and arrangement of the brackets and other elements of the combination and the manner of dissipating heat from the secondary source of light may be varied considerably in order to obtain the advantages of my invention in any particular installation or to utilize them most effectively. In view thereof it should be understood that the form and construction of my inticles within said space may be observed, a main source of illumination for said space located outside thereof and extending along the top of said glass panel, spaced shelf supporting brackets lo-, cated within said space, secondary sources of illumination carried by said brackets and located beneath the same, light shields for directing light from said secondary sources downward onto the space beneath the same, said light shields being in heat exchanging relation with said brackets and said brackets being formed of material having high heat conductivity, means for cooling said refrigerated space and heat conducting means extending from said brackets into a position adjacent said cooling means for dissipating heat produced by said secondary sources of illumination.

2. In combination with a refrigerated display case having a refrigerated space therein with a glass panel in the front thereof through which articles within said space may beobserved, a main source of illumination for said space located outside thereof and near the top of said space to space, secondary sources of illumination carried by said brackets and located beneath the same, light shields formed integral with said bracket and located beneath the same for directing light from said secondary sources downward onto the space below the same, said brackets and light shields being formed of material having high heat conductivity for dissipating heat produced by said secondary sources of illumination, means for cooling said refrigerated space and heat conducting means on said brackets extending into a position adjacent said cooling means for dissipating heat produced by said secondary sources of illumination.

FRANK D. MACMASTER. 

